Mojave Solar Project
| Mojave Solar Project | |
|---|---|
 Location of Mojave Solar Project in California
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| Country | United States |
| Location | Mojave Desert, California |
| Coordinates | 35°0′40″N 117°19′30″W / 35.01111°N 117.32500°WCoordinates: 35°0′40″N 117°19′30″W / 35.01111°N 117.32500°W |
| Status | Operational |
| Construction began | September 2011 |
| Commission date | December 1, 2014 |
| Solar field | |
| Type | CSP |
| CSP technology | Parabolic trough |
| Collectors | 2256 (SCAs) |
| Total collector area | 1,559,347 square metres (385.323 acres) |
| Site area | 1,765 acres (7 km2) |
| Site resource | 2,685 kW·h/m2/yr |
| Power generation | |
| Nameplate capacity | 280 MW |
| Capacity factor | 28% |
| Annual gross output | 617 GWh |
The Mojave Solar Project (MSP) is a concentrated solar power (CSP) facility in the Mojave Desert in California, about 20 miles (32 km) northwest of Barstow. Surrounding the hamlet of Lockhart, Mojave Solar is adjacent to Harper Lake and the SEGS VIII–IX solar plant. The site was originally reserved for the planned, never built, SEGS IX and XII. For 15 years following its construction in 1990, this was the largest commercial solar power plant in the world, generating around 160 megawatts at its peak. It is one of three separately owned sites within 40 miles of one another, that make up the nine solar fields in the Solar Electric Generating System (SEGS #1 and 2 are at Daggett, and #3 through 7 are at Kramer Junction). Harper Lake was the last of these built, and is designated as SEGS #8 and 9. It is still online, but has been surpassed by other newer facilities, including the Mojave Solar Project.MSP, with a combined nameplate capacity of 280 MW (net 250 MW), is made of two, independently-operable, solar fields. The power plant cost an estimated $1.6 billion in total and entered commercial operation in December 2014. The developer, Abengoa, has successfully secured a $1.2 billion loan guarantee from the US government for the project. The plant is expected to generate 617,000 MWh of power annually, enough power for more than 88,000 households and to prevent the emission of over 430 kilotons of CO2 a year. Pacific Gas & Electric has agreed to a 25-year power purchase agreement.
The plant was commissioned on 1st December, 2014.
Using the desert's solar thermal energy, the facility generates steam in solar steam generators, which expands through a steam turbine generator to produce electrical power from twin, independently operable solar fields, each feeding a 125 MW power island. Generation is provided 100% from sun, no supplement from fossil-based energy sources. There is a gas-fired auxiliary boiler, for each field, only to provide equipment and heat-transfer fluid (HTF) freeze protection, when temperatures fall below 54 °F (12 °C).
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